Week 11 Thoughts & Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Week 11 as I wonder what was more common – those who had the Jon Taylor and Austin Ekeler combination this week or those who lost to the Jon Taylor and Austin Ekeler combination.

So yesterday was fun if you were a first-place team. Or not.

Packers
Titans
Bills
Cowboys

All lost and all did so in rather embarrassing fashion. The Titans, Bills and Cowboys just got whipped and Green Bay’s standout defense got absolutely mauled at Minnesota. Just when you thought you knew something about something in the NFL. Turns out you didn’t know anything at all.

Yay.

Dear Justin Fields. I’m done with you. Yeah, you got hurt but before that against the league’s worst pass defense?

Pure vomit.

I know everyone will see Andy Dalton threw a touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney and yeah that was pretty cool and all (but it really was all Mooney) but I lost count of the number of passes Dalton threw toward Mooney that were roughly 300 feet either above or nowhere in the vicinity of Mooney. All of those will be considered “targets” in the stat column. Just a heads up.

There’s a real problem in Buffalo. The Bills’ offense is in a rut and the bigger problem is they are no longer the best team in the AFC East. The Patriots are and New England has two meetings left with Buffalo down the stretch to prove it.

If Jon Taylor and Derrick Henry are both healthy for the start of the 2022 season, I’m taking Taylor No. 1 overall and I’m not even hesitating. That’s not a knock on Henry who’s obviously great and I’m not bleeding Badger Red. Taylor is just that good.

The Colts have obviously figured out they need more Taylor and not less in their offense if they wanna make the playoffs. That means no more Marlon Mack (he’s literally not even playing anymore on Sundays) and Nyheim Hines barely gets on the field anymore. It’s Taylor, Taylor and more Taylor. And that’s smart, smart and really really smart. Well done Frank Reich.

Oh, Taylor is also the NFL’s MVP right now and if the vote was conducted today, he’d win it in a landslide. There is no one else even remotely in the conversation.

So Rashod Bateman isn’t the No. 1 WR when Marqise Brown is out. Good to know. Would’ve been really nice to know BEFORE Sunday.

I swung and missed badly on my Bateman call this week (sorry everyone) but one thing I did get right was warning people the Browns have eliminated the Kareem Hunt role from their offense since Hunt got hurt. Even coming off Covid, they rode Nick Chubb as their primary RB while barely involving D’Ernest Johnson at all. So, Johnson was a worthless play on Sunday for anyone who thought he might carry RB3 value.

So, Tennessee, WTF?

No seriously WTF?

I mean it, WTF?

Rex Burkhead and David Johnson combined to rush 31 times for 58 yards on Sunday. I didn’t even think something like that was possible. Even for Rex Burkhead and David Johnson.

Hold on Jon Taylor just scored another touchdown.

Since Week 1 the Packers’ defense has arguably been the best unit in the NFL. Those of us who follow Green Bay have been waiting for the balloon to pop. It didn’t just pop on Sunday it blew the freakin hell up and shat all over itself.

I guess you could say we kinda knew something like that was coming and none of us should’ve been all that surprised – especially coming in the annual Minneapolis House of Horrors.

There are few things you can count on as much as you can count on Adam Thielen making the Packers his bitch every season.

Justin Jefferson. He’s kinda good too.

Dear NY Jets – I don’t care who your QB is, make damn sure whoever it is keeps throwing the ball to Elijah Moore.

Remember a few weeks ago when I was laughing at people who thought the Eagles should bench Jalen Hurts? I’m still laughing at them.

Sorry but they deserve to be laughed at. Especially when the choice to replace Hurts was Gardner Freakin Minshew.

I mean c’mon people. Gardner Minshew?

Miles Sanders with 94 yards in his return against the league’s top-ranked run defense. Yeah, he’s pretty damn good.

Now hang onto the damn ball Miles.

The Saints’ defense is an embarrassment considering all the talent it has. Unless Alvin Kamara makes a speedy recovery for Thanksgiving night’s matchup with Buffalo, New Orleans’ season may be over already.

Hold on Jon Taylor just scored another touchdown.

Cam Newton was a fun story last week, but on Sunday we saw some of the massive limitations he continues to have throwing the ball and the reason why he flamed out in New England a season ago. Feel good stories are fun. Downfield passing is better.

Taylor Heinicke has started nine games. He has five games of 25 points or more in the NFFC and four games under 20.5. There is absolutely no middle ground with this guy. There is no average day at the office. He is either going to go QB1 for you or soil the bed and roll around in it and make you hate the moment you plugged him into your lineup. Should we consider that fun?

I’ll let you decide. He faces Seattle in Week 12. So …

Hold on Jon Taylor just scored another touchdown.

Deebo Samuel on Sunday:

1 reception

79 yards rushing, 1 TD

Stud

I can’t explain why Brandon Aiyuk was phased out of the offense in Week 10 because it made no sense but here are his targets in Weeks 8, 9 and 11:

7
8
7

Keep. Starting. Him. He. Is. Back.

I’m not a Jim Garoppolo fan by any stretch but he’s been playing very good football for several weeks now and he’s a huge reason why the Niners are 5-5 and very much in the NFC playoff race. This is my way of saying the Trey Lance truthers need to sit back and keep quiet for a while.

Hold on Jon Taylor just scored another touchdown.

Remember when we thought the Raiders might be kinda good? That was fun.

Joe Mixon has TDs in four straight games. Just gonna make me eat all that crow aren’t ya Joe?

Clyde-Edwards Helaire is back, and the Chiefs gave him their backfield again. We’ll always have Week 10, Darrel. No one will ever take that away from us.

The Cowboys held Patrick Mahomes without a touchdown pass and still got their asses handed to them. So … good news bad news kinda day?

Dak Prescott had 5.8 points on Sunday.

That actually happened.

It really did.

I’m not making that up.

5.8 points more than I scored sitting at home.

That was not a dream. But it was a nightmare.


Hold on Jon Taylor just scored another touchdown.

What’s worse right now, watching the Seahawks as a team or watching Russ Wilson play quarterback?

Death. Taxes and James Conner scoring touchdowns every freaking week.

The Cardinals have a Week 12 bye and there’s still a 97.6% chance Conner scores next week.

This is your weekly reminder there were people in the NFL and fantasy industry who thought Justin Herbert was going to regress this season. Cute, isn’t it?

Give Dionte Johnson Justin Herbert and he’d be a Top 5 fantasy WR. He’s WR11 with Ben right now and every week Roethlisberger throws at least 2-3 horrible passes to him. Just absolutely terrible passes when Johnson has his man beat that should be easy receptions.

It’s not fair that on a day when Jon Taylor was unbelievable Austin Ekeler is going to get overshadowed but how amazing was he once again? He’s now scored in every game but three this season and in those games, he’s put up 22.5, 9.5 and 11.2 points so he’s only had one dud the entire season. That’s fantastic consistency from your foundation RB pick in Round 1. He’s topped 20 points six times, including two games of more than 30. In a word …

Stud.

And finally, imagine facing this lineup this week that someone could have drafted in the NFFC Primetime this year from the 9 hole:

QB-Aaron Rodgers
RB-Jon Taylor
RB-D’Andre Swift
WR-Justin Jefferson
WR-Dionte Johnson
WR-Deebo Samuel
TE-Mark Andrews
FL-Darnell Mooney

Ain’t this game fun?